Our next concert is Broadway Extravaganza and it features Clarissa Serna who appeared on the television show The Voice in 2014. The upcoming concert features her, with the chorale, performing a varied selection of Broadway’s memorable songs.

This concert is a fund raiser for the chorale which is a self-supporting 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Please make plans to attend and hear Clarissa with the chorale. You don’t want to miss this!

Auditions for the Chorale will be held Tuesday, Aug-19th, 7:30PM, at the campus of TAMU-Corpus Christi, Center for the Arts, room 137. If you’re interested in auditioning but cannot attend that evening, please contact Dr Bernhardt for an alternative time/date.

Fall smells are in the air and sounds in the air. The Corpus Christi Chorale will hold its annual Fall concert on Tuesday, October 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi Performing Arts Center. Under the direction of Artistic Director Dr. Ross Bernhardt, the impressive 70-voice Chorale will be joined by the Del Mar Master Chorus and TAMUCC’s Camerata Isla for the evening. In addition to English folksongs and works by contemporary American composers, winning compositions from the 2013 Corpus Christi Chorale Composition Competition will also be performed. Irish composer Paul Flynn, top winner, will be traveling to Texas for the concert.

Cavan Composer, Paul Flynn, will be in attendance during the concert to hear the premiere of his winning composition, Sub Tuum Praesidium (a Second Century Marian text). His composition was awarded first place in the 2013 competition and is his second international award in this year.

Held early in the year, the 2013 Corpus Christi Chorale Composition garnered 41 entries from the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland and India. Composers were asked to submit works from three to five minutes in length that had not been previously performed. Judges included Dr. Ross Bernhardt, Dennis Richardson, Director of the Del Mar Master Chorus, and Dr. Shane Anderson from the TAMUCC music faculty. Dr. Bernhardt was inspired to start the competition in South Texas after winning prizes in several international competitions himself.

In addition to Flynn’s composition, second place entry Love Song to Language by William Clyne from Corona, CA and third place entry The Three Ravens by Christian Martin from Whitney Point, NY will also be performed by the Corpus Christi Chorale and Del Mar Master Chorus.

About Paul Flynn (b. 1977)
Originally from Lucan, Co. Dublin, Paul Flynn graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Art in music from Trinity College Dublin, specializing in composition with Kevin O’Connell and Donnacha Dennehy. In 2009, he was awarded a Master of Letters in musicology from the same college.

Flynn has extensive experience of the choral genre not only through composition but also through conducting and singing with many choirs including the Mornington Singers, Trinity College Dublin Chapel Choir and St Patrick’s Cathedral Choir, Dublin. In 2006, he won the Christ Church Cathedral Festival Composition Competition and received the International Composer Honorable Mention in the 2009 POLYPHONOS competition with The Esoterics Choir in Seattle. He has had works performed in many venues both in Ireland and the United Kingdom, including recent performances by the men of St Paul’s Cathedral, London. Some of his liturgical music is in the regular repertoire of a number of choirs including Trinity College Dublin Chapel Choir and St Patrick’s Cathedral Choir. Recently, his work Hymnus Sancti Camelaci was selected for the 2014 ISCM World Music Days Festival.

“Writing for voice is my main focus in composition with a special interest in choral music. Most of my recent choral music has been liturgical and I hope that it has enhanced the worship of others,” says Flynn.

Paul Flynn now lives in Ballyhaise, County Cavan with his family. He is an active member of the Association of Irish Composers.

The Corpus Christi Chorale performs under the direction of Ross Bernhardt, DMA. Dr. Bernhardt became Artistic Director in 2008, when he joined the Music Department at Texas A&M Corpus Christi as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities. In this position, he conducts the University Singers and Camerata Isla and teaches applied voice. Prior to coming to the Coastal Bend, he served as Music Department Chair at Lambuth University in Tennessee. Bernhardt possesses a strong baritone voice himself, and is often in demand as a soloist outside the scope of the Chorale. As an award-winning composer, Bernhardt has had many of his pieces performed in Spain, the United Kingdom, and through the United States.

Our Fall 2013 concert is funded by Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds by the City of Corpus Christi through the Arts & Cultural Commission.

About the Corpus Christi Chorale
For nearly seven decades, the Corpus Christi Chorale has boasted a tradition of providing outstanding and diverse choral music for Coastal Bend audiences. In addition to performing, the 90-person ensemble allows for the education and development of the finest singers in South Texas. The ensemble was established in 1945 by the Del Mar College Music Department and moved to Texas A&M University Corpus Christi in 2005, initiating a new chapter in its history when they began appearing at the world-class Performing Arts Center on campus. The Corpus Christi Chorale is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. For more information or to provide financial support, visit our contact page.